as the titular Mike. Swoosie Kurtz then joined the series as Molly's mother, Joyce. Following Kurtz, Nyambi Nyambi boarded the series as Samuel, a regular waiter at Abe's Hot Beef, where Mike and Carl frequent. Melissa McCarthy completed the cast when she signed on to play the role of Molly. Reception Ratings Critical reception Mike & Molly has received moderately positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the show holds a rating of 69% with an average rating of 5.46/10, based on 29 reviews. The consensus reads: "Mike & Molly is a conventional sitcom that's able to mine some big laughs, thanks to the immensely appealing central performers". On Metacritic it has a score of 62 out of 100 based on 23 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Critic Randee Dawn gave the show a negative review, stating the cast is likable, but the jokes are old and bland. Controversies Controversy arose in 2010 around a Marie Claire blog post written by Maura Kelly, in which she refers to the actors on the show as "fat bastards." Show creator Mark Roberts spoke out regarding Kelly's blog post, calling the comments "very high school". He also stated, "This wasn't about the show, this wasn't about the writing, this wasn't about the acting. This was about someone's hateful response to how these two human beings look." Billy Gardell also addressed the matter when he appeared on the daily talk show The Talk on November 1, 2010. Marie Claire has stood behind the blog. Kelly has since given a non-apology apology for her comments, stating that she "sorely regret[s] that it upset people so much". In the season 3 episode "Molly's New Shoes", the character Peggy reacts to her fiancé's plans to retire and move to Arizona with the line "Arizona? Why should I go to Arizona? It's nothing but a furnace full of drunk Indians." This prompted calls by the Native American Journalists Association, among others, for an apology. Accolades Broadcast The series airs in Canada on CTV, CTV Two, City, and M3 from September 20, 2010. In the United Kingdom it aired on Comedy Central UK from October 4, 2010 and reran on Channel 4 from September 10, 2018. In Ireland | Comedy Central UK began showing it also on October 4, 2010. February 9, 2011 was the premiere for Nine Network in Australia. New Zealand's TV2 started it from April 29,